The wine and spirits industry is choking on counterfeits. This is a hole that destroys 380 million euros in profits each year and 1,100 jobs in Spain, according to the latest data from the European Union Intellectual Property Office (Euipo). The market has opted for an ingenious solution to tackle the problem: smart bottles with memory. The idea is to use QR codes and NFC technology – the same system that allows payment with mobile phones – to guarantee the consumer that what they have purchased is original and not a copy. The philosophy behind their strategy is simple: if imitators are very good at copying wines, perhaps it is time to make it more difficult for them with bottles. This thinking has led brands to reinforce their anti-piracy strategy with a focus not so much on content, but on the continent. And this has given way to a true revolution in packaging design. Memory bottles owe their striking name to NFC technology chips present on their labels or caps. Thus, by simply bringing the phone closer, the consumer obtains information about the origin of the product and its journey until it reaches their hands. But the idea of creating traceable bottles is not new. The spirits sector has led a years-long fight against counterfeits, with the use of stamped labels, holograms and serialized codes. However, counterfeiters have fine-tuned their techniques to jump over these barriers. Their copies are becoming finer and finer. An idea of its magnitude is that between 2013 and 2017, the counterfeiting of alcohol products left a profit gap in the European Union of 2,015 million euros. The main flight points are the eastern markets, with China and Vietnam in the lead. “Counterfeiting has evolved significantly,” corroborates Gerard Guiu, general director of the Association for the Defense of the Brand (ANDEMA). “They are no longer limited to filling original bottles, but are capable of manufacturing high-quality fake bottles, labels and closures.” In 2023, the Spanish Wine Federation created a working group specialized in digitalization to encourage wineries to use smart bottles and QR codes. This is a rapid reaction against the rise of fraudulent sites, websites that pretend to be the official portals of well-known brands to create confusion in the market. This phenomenon, registering domains practically identical or similar to other brands in bad faith, is known as cybersquatting, translated as cybersquatting. Lawyer Inmaculada de la Haza, partner at the Balder law firm and specialist in industrial property, recognizes that these fake portals are a trap for the sale of drinks that claim to be what they really are not. “Third parties register domains identical or confusingly similar to the brand to divert traffic,” and thus “sell illicit products, launch payment scams, or simply resell the domain.” Unofficial sales on social networks also worry the wine business. “On Instagram, Facebook or TikTok it is common to see fake or personal accounts that offer premium bottles at low prices,” the lawyer detects. These transactions are usually managed by direct message or through channels outside the platform: it is, simply, a way to avoid controls. De la Haza also identifies cases of false influencers or ambassadors who promote wines that have not been officially imported. This sets off alarm bells because they may be “stuffed” products or with redesigned labels. “This was noticed by Interpol as a recurring mechanism in markets such as Southeast Asia or Latin America.”
Illegal trade routes
Tracing the bottle with technology is a simple way to collect data: where it was sold, what vintage or the serial number. But, in addition, it is an ideal formula to know the tentacles of illegal trade and what its routes are. “If each protected bottle generates verification events, the brand can detect duplications,” explains Juan Pablo Izquierdo, CEO of Vinok, one of the start-ups that have emerged in the sector to guarantee the traceability of wine with technology. “For example, the same ID can be detected in two places, suspicious concentrations, routes inconsistent with the channel or peaks of activity that can point to a copy or double labeling.” Bottles with memory, disruptive and technological. “The strategy is not based on a single measure, but on superimposed layers of protection,” adds Pablo López Ronda, director of brands and brand intelligence at Pons IP. For example, the use of NFC technology with blockchain registration helps reconstruct the journey from the bottle to the buyer. “These labels provide encrypted data in real time, evidence of manipulation and geolocation tracking,” explains López Ronda. The blockchain generates an immutable record of each step the packaging has taken. Although it is a technology that has been implemented unevenly in wineries, depending on their size and resources, because it is not a cheap strategy, the specialist acknowledges. Another disadvantage is that reverse engineering can mean that, in a relatively short time, the technology can be replicated by counterfeiters. The anti-piracy revolution is not just a matter of technological shielding. In parallel, the sector has been inspired by the example of Old Parr, the emblematic amber bottle of Scotch whiskey, with registered and exclusive crackle relief. Experts agree that brands are increasingly registering distinctive, ground-breaking packaging that escapes the constraints of the norm. It is a way to attract the attention of the market, but also a barrier to make it difficult for counterfeiters, always on the lookout.
Counterfeiting schemes
“Counterfeiters use cheap wine to fill bottles of expensive wine, or they mix them, or they directly counterfeit the entire bottle,” explains Inmaculada de las Heras, partner at the Balder firm. Italy is one of the countries with the most smuggling, according to Euipo. At the end of 2024, European authorities uncovered a criminal network in the Alpine country to counterfeit French red wine, sold for 15,000 euros per bottle. In Spain, Spanish police documented a network of wines with false denominations, marketed as Rioja in Vietnam through 17 fraudulent brands. In 2024, the Civil Guard detected more than 18,400 bottles marketed under a false designation of origin for Malaga wines, intended for online sales.
